


Something There That Wasn't There Before

by AndieThomas



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Beauty and the Beast AU, F/M, Harvey gets more feelings than he bargained for, Jessica takes no shit, Mike has an adopted sister, Sassy redheads abound, Younger Mike who is still in college, and Travis Tanner is a creep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-01-26 02:31:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1671440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndieThomas/pseuds/AndieThomas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started out as a normal day for Andralissa "Andie" Ross. Then her kid brother Mike gets himself in trouble with big time lawyer Harvey Specter, a man who has a reputation for being so ruthless he's referred to as "The Beast". In the process of trying to fix things and keep Mike out of big trouble, Andie finds herself getting closer to New York's best closer than she ever thought she'd want to be. Adding in Travis Tanner, creeper extraordinaire, doesn't help matters as he tries to get Andie right where he wants her.</p>
<p>Is she in over her head or will she actually be able to find a happy ending in this mess?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own zippo except for Andie and whatever other original characters might show up along the way.
> 
> So, this is my first attempt at a Beauty and the Beast style AU. All mistakes, errors and discrepancies that you may find belong to me, myself and I because I don't always catch them and I don't always have someone to read through my chapters for me. This chapter is really just the basics and jumps around a bit. Things will get a lot more exciting as we progress. I hope you enjoy it!

“Mike, come on! Stop dragging your feet, we’re going to be late!”

Andralissa Ross sighed as she tried to get her tablet into the small space left in her messenger bag. It was a typical morning in the small two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn and Andie was trying to finish getting ready for work and she really wanted to be on time.

It appeared that her brother Mike, however, was making that a bit difficult. He’d been out late again the night before, what he had been doing he wouldn’t say, and Andie just knew she was going to have a hard time getting him out the door and off to work.

“Michael James Ross! You had better be awake and ready to go or I’ll-”

Mike poked his head out of the kitchen with a grin on his face. “I’ve been ready to go for the past hour, slowpoke.”

“I hate you sometimes, you know that?” Andie rolled her eyes and pulled her bag over her shoulder with a groan.

“Lies, you adore me.” Mike said handing her the small travel mug that he’d filled with coffee for his sister.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Andie scoffed playfully and took a grateful sip from the mug. “By the way, the next time you skip a study group to go do whatever the hell it is you do at night, don’t use Grammy as an excuse. I got a phone call from Jenny last night asking me how she was.”

“Shit. Sorry.” Mike gave her a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his neck. “I had…things to do.”

“Those things better have included homework, otherwise your ass is grass little brother.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Mike teased, winking at her.

* * *

 

Harvey Specter was not in a good mood. He’d already spilled coffee on himself and had to change, he ran out of hair gel and god forbid his tie stay straight! Then Ray was late, he just about got doused by a puddle, his bagel was soggy and he hadn’t even managed to get any caffeine in his system.

By the time he actually got to work he was fuming, so when he walked into his office to find a rather panicked looking young man attempting to sop up what appeared to be coffee set out by Donna from his desk, he blew up before a single word could leave the kid’s mouth.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Harvey bellowed, stalking over to his desk.

“I’m sorry, it was an accident!” The kid scrambled out of his way, his expression equal parts frustration and embarrassment.

“You’re lucky I don’t sue you! Do you enjoy messing with people’s desks or something?” Harvey snarled, not even bothering to look at him as he inspected his desk.

Most of what was now covered in coffee was easily replaceable. Except…

“On second thought, I changed my mind. I’m definitely suing.”

Harvey glared at the kid as he picked up the now saturated autographed Michael Jordan basketball cards Harvey had received as a gift from the player himself. He hadn’t had a chance to frame them yet and now it appeared he never would.

“Look, I said I’m sorry! Seriously, I-”

The poor kid was lucky Donna came in when she did with towels in hand and a frown on her face, otherwise Harvey might have done something he would later regret.

“Kid, just deliver whatever it is you came to deliver and get out of here before he really loses it.” The redhead sighed, her tone firm but still fairly gentle as she moved to help Harvey clean up the mess.

“Yes Ma’am.” The young man pulled out a small package and handed it to Harvey along with the clipboard.

Harvey yanked both items out of his hands and angrily scratched his signature on the paper before shoving the clipboard back at the kid.

“I want your name and the name of your supervisor. Now.”

* * *

 

“Mike, sweetheart slow down, I can hardly understand you. What happened?” Andie sighed, doing her best to keep her voice low. She technically wasn’t supposed to be on her cell phone but she always answered when Mike called.

“I think I might get sued Andie! All because of a stupid accident! I bumped into this bigwig’s desk when I was pulling out the paperwork for the delivery I was making and spilled coffee everywhere. Next thing I know he’s saying he’s gonna sue!” Mike’s voice was tight and Andie just wanted to pull him into a big hug right then and there. “What am I gonna do?”

“He was probably just trying to scare you Mike, you’re not going to get sued.” Andie rubbed her temples, feeling a migraine coming on.

“You weren’t there Andie; you didn’t hear how serious he was! Not to mention he’s a lawyer with a reputation for being the biggest hard ass in New York.”

“Look, I go on my lunch break in roughly an hour. We’ll go back and we’ll try to make things right, okay? Until then stop worrying about it. I’m sure it’s nothing but a threat.” Andie muttered, running a hand over her face.

“Okay. Thank you, Andie.” Mike sighed and Andie could hear a note of relief in his voice. “I’m so sorry, I really am.”

“It’s alright Mike, we’ll be fine. I’ve got your back.” Andie smiled a little.

“Best big sister ever. I’ll see you soon, love you!”

“Love you too Mike.” Andie replied, hanging up her phone and sliding it back into her bag before focusing on her computer.

“Trouble in paradise, Miss Ross?” A deep voice sounded behind her, making her jump in her seat.

“Mr. Tanner, you startled me. I had a slight family emergency but I wasn’t able to leave my desk for the call.” Andie grimaced, though she made sure to smile when she turned to face the man behind her.

Travis Tanner was handsome, without a doubt, but he gave off the creeper vibe like none other which took away from the attractiveness of his face. He’d been trying to get Andie to go out with him since he’d first laid eyes on her but she’d managed to evade his advances so far, by making herself wholly unavailable due to a work project or by claiming family problems.

“Anything I can help with?” Tanner was trying to act concerned again and it really irked Andie.

She knew he only had one goal in mind and there was no way that was happening, ever. He could promise her the moon, stars and Jupiter too for all she cared, she wasn’t about to become a plaything for anyone.

That didn’t stop Tanner though, and neither did the word no apparently, seeing as he was now sitting on her desk again. Andie had seen what had happened to girls that tried to report Tanner for his actions and she needed this job too much to risk losing it, so she put up with his flirtations and constant invitations out to dinner, among other things.

“No, everything will work itself out, thank you though.” Andie said, making sure to keep her tone polite and professional.

“Perhaps I can take you out to lunch, help ease your mind a little.” Tanner gave her what he was sure was a winning smile, but Andie shook her head as she fought the urge to shove him off her desk.

“Again, thank you but I have some business to take care of during lunch that I just can’t put off. In fact, I should be getting back to work before I get too far behind.” Andie said, turning back to her computer.

Tanner narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before standing and straightening his suit. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

And with that he was gone, leaving Andie to finish her work.

* * *

 

An hour later found her staring up at a huge office building in Manhattan, wondering just what kind of trouble her brother had really gotten himself into.

“Oh thank god, I thought you might not be able to get away in time.” Mike said, pulling her into a hug.

“Ewww, you’re all sweaty!” Andie flailed her arms around a little, playing around for the most part trying to help him feel better.

“Well yeah, I’ve been biking all over New York.” Mike retorted, rolling his eyes playfully.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Andie clicked her tongue and started making her way toward the front doors of the building.

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm!” Mike grinned, following his sister into the building.

“What’s this guy’s name anyway?” Andie asked, looking up at Mike with curiosity.

“The name on the door said Harvey Specter.” He replied, hitting the button for the elevator.

“Oh hell… Well this should be interesting then.” Andie had heard all about Harvey’s reputation for being positively ruthless. In fact, he was known throughout the city as ‘The Beast’.

The trek to Mr. Specter’s office was a bit tense, the two siblings not sure what was going to happen. Andie just hoped that the guy had calmed down some since the incident. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. The redhead that sat at the desk outside Specter’s office looked them over with sharp eyes as they approached.

“Mr. Specter doesn’t have any time for walk-ins today, especially not after this morning’s incident.” The woman said, looking pointedly at Mike.

“I can understand that, but my brother and I would like to make things right with Mr. Specter. All we ask is for enough time to see if we can work something out, that’s all and we’ll be gone.” Andie said, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.

The redhead tapped her pen on her desk, considering them for a moment. “You can go in. The clumsy puppy here stays out of the office.” She said finally, standing to open the door to the office.

Mike opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he saw the warning look on his sister’s face. He huffed and went over to one of the chairs in the hall and sat down to wait for Andie.

Andie was led into the office, her stomach full of butterflies as she came to a stop in front of Specter’s desk. The man sitting behind it didn’t even look up as they came in, pen scratching away at some document.

“Donna, I thought we agreed that I don’t have time for walk-ins.” He said voice rough and a bit irritated.

The redhead, who was apparently named Donna, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“The young woman insisted. It’s about this morning’s coffee incident.” Donna said, keeping a professional tone to her voice.

Andie straightened her shoulders as Harvey looked up, his gaze coming to rest on her. Donna took that as her cue to leave, resuming her post at her desk.

“Are you the kid’s lawyer? If you are you should know that your client is facing a major lawsuit.” Harvey said, looking the young woman up and down.

“Actually I’m his sister. Mike is very sorry about what happened and we wanted to see what we could do to make things right _without_ dealing with a lawsuit.” Andie replied, doing her best to keep her voice strong and confident.

“So he sent his sister to bat her eyes and make it go away? Not going to happen.” Harvey snorted, shaking his head.

“I don’t recall batting my eyes at any point in this conversation, Mr. Specter. Furthermore, the only reason Mike isn’t in here himself is because your secretary wouldn’t let him in. All I want is to keep him out of trouble.” Andie said, shaking her head.

Harvey looked at her with a frown. For a moment his mind drifted to Marcus and what he would do to keep him out of this kind of trouble. He shook himself from those thoughts and narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

“Then you should try riding along with him next time. Then maybe you can mother him some more.”

He didn’t really need to take a jab at her but really, what did she expect to happen? She was the one who waltzed in here trying to play ball with him. He certainly didn’t expect her reaction though. Her eyes flashed and she took a step closer to his desk, leaning over until she was eye level with him palms down on the glass.

“You sir, do not get to speak to me that way.” Andie said, looking him dead in the eye. “I’m just trying to protect my family the only way I know how. Now I may have to put up with scathing remarks from the assholes I work with, but I don’t have to take it from the likes of you. Clearly you have no interest in being cooperative so I’m just wasting my time.”

Harvey watched her as she straightened back up and turned around, not even waiting for his response. Andie was almost out the door when Harvey finally found his voice.

“Wait.”

Andie paused, sighing softly and closing her eyes for a brief moment before turning around and looking at the man behind the desk. He had a calculating look on his face as he looked her over, which she didn’t particularly care for but she couldn’t control what people did with their eyeballs, and then he sat forward.

“What are you willing to do to keep your brother out of a lawsuit?” Harvey asked, tapping his chin.

“Anything,” Andie replied, her tone softer now. “I would do whatever it takes to protect him.”

“Well then, you’re in luck. I have a proposal for you.”


	2. The Arrangement, The Gala And Trouble In Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own zippo except for Andie and whatever other original characters might show up along the way. All mistakes, errors and discrepancies that you may find belong to me, myself and I because I don't always catch them and I don't always have someone to read through my chapters for me. Feedback is appreciated and greeted with hugs, cookies and lots of love.
> 
> In this chapter we see siblings squabble, flashbacks, sass, pretty dresses and creepy douche bags as well as a heated argument.

“You’re _what_?!”

Mike’s jaw dropped as he stared at his sister, who was currently curling her auburn hair. Andie looked at him through the mirror with a sigh.

“I’m going out on a date.” She said, doing her best not to look sheepish.

“With Harvey Specter,” Mike snapped. “The same guy who was going to sue me not three days ago!”

“Look, Mikey it’s not like I’m doing this for fun. It’s all part of the deal we made. He’s got a big client that is getting married and things will flow a bit easier if he’s got a steady date for the required social events.” Andie set down her curling iron and turned to look at him.

“Oh, so you’re going to be his girlfriend now?” Mike scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No! Well…yes, sort of, but in the public eye only. It’s complicated.” Andie’s fingers twitched a little as she resisted the urge to run her fingers through her hair.

“Whatever. Have fun on your little _date_.” Mike huffed, stalking out of the bathroom and down the hall to his room.

“You are such a child sometimes!” Andie hollered after him, growling in frustration as she turned back to face the mirror.

It was times like this that she wished that Grammy was still living with them, or that their mom was still alive to give her some sage advice. She wasn’t sure she had done the right thing, agreeing to this little deal, but she didn’t see that she’d had much of a choice. She took in her reflection for a moment. Tired blue-grey eyes that had dark circles carefully concealed beneath her makeup stared back at her until she was shaken from her thoughts by Mike slamming the apartment door on his way out.

“Get your shit together Andie. You can do this.” She muttered, shaking her head as she went back to getting ready.

* * *

Harvey sighed as he looked in the mirror. Why he had thought this was a good idea he’d never know. Donna had flat out told him he was being an idiot, though she did say it was better than attacking the delivery boy with a lawsuit. He let his mind drift back to the conversation that had brought him to this point as he finished getting ready.

_“So let me get this straight. You want me to act like we’re dating, just so you can keep a client? You’re out of your mind Specter.” Andie said arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her face._

_Harvey leaned back in his chair, casually tossing one of his baseballs in the air and catching it. He honestly had no idea if this little plan of his would work but if it did then it would benefit the both of them, though more importantly it would benefit him._

_“Charlie is a romantic at heart and at some point I may have inadvertently implied that I was seeing someone. Not a lie at the time, though I wasn’t exactly dating her.” He smirked, looking up at Andie. “Thing is, she’s not in the picture anymore and Charlie still thinks I’ve got a girlfriend so…”_

_“So what, you tell him whatever bullshit story about why it didn’t work and you move on. Not that difficult.” Andie rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed with his idea at all._

_“The problem with that is Charlie already thinks I have a problem with commitment, and that if I can’t commit to keeping a steady girlfriend, who’s to say I can commit to doing what’s best for his company? At least that’s his thought process anyway.”_

_“Fair enough I suppose. So…what would I have to do?” Andie asked, running her fingers through her hair._

_“Just act like a typical doting girlfriend and let me do the talking.” Harvey said, waving a hand dismissively. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”_

_“…how long has it been since you’ve actually had a girlfriend?”_

Donna had, of course, been listening in and wasn’t able to suppress a snicker at Andie’s words. She also reminded him that Charlie Harris himself would be in the office in just a few minutes time. Andie had skedaddled pretty quickly after that, making the excuse of having to get back to work before giving her name and phone number to Donna and collecting her brother on the way out.

After talking business with Charlie and reassuring him that yes, his ‘girlfriend’ would be coming with him to the gala that Charlie’s fiancée Adrianne would be hosting that weekend, Harvey was left to his own devices for a while. That is until Donna strolled into his office and sat down on his couch to stare at him. He let her stare for a good ten minutes before it finally unnerved him enough to speak.

_“If you have something to say then just come out and say it.”_

_“What are you doing Harvey? Do you really think you’re going to be able to pull this off?” Donna asked, raising her eyebrows at him._

_“I know what I’m doing Donna, don’t worry about it.” Harvey said, not looking up from the file he was reading._

_“No you don’t, you’re trying to bluff a relationship.” Donna said, leaning back on the couch and crossing her legs. “If you mess this up Jessica is gonna kick your ass.”_

_“Thank you, for your overwhelming support. It means so much.” Harvey said dryly, finally looking up at the redhead._

_“Hey, I’m just telling like it is. I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.”_

After giving him a little more hell and telling him to behave himself, Donna went back to her desk and they went about the rest for their work day.

Now here he was, dressed in his tux and making his way downstairs to the car where Ray was waiting. Ray had the address to the apartment where Miss Andie Ross lived and they headed straight over there so that Harvey could pick up his date for the evening.

He looked up at the old apartment building with mild distaste before going inside and heading up the stairs to the designated apartment. He knocked on the door and frowned as he heard a couple thumps and some muffled cursing before the door opened and he was face to face with a totally different woman than the one he had met earlier that week.

Harvey had to admit he was impressed with the way she’d cleaned up. At the office Andie had been a frazzled looking mess, but now, now she looked like she’d stepped straight out of a Tiffany’s ad.

Strapless and floor length, the dark navy blue satin of her dress hugged her curves and brought out the ivory tone of her skin. The white elbow length gloves she held in her hands would go perfectly with it. Her hair was meticulously curled and held away from her face with a jeweled headband that matched the necklace she was wearing.

“Having fun staring are we?” Andie asked, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

Not that she hadn’t given him a thorough once over herself. Harvey was just too distracted by looking at her to notice.

“Just making sure you’ll be able to pull off your part of the act tonight.” Harvey said coolly, smirking as she scowled at him.

“Oh I can play my part, just keep your hands at a respectful level or you might just lose them.” She snapped, grabbing her small evening bag and pushing past him.

He trailed along behind her, chuckling under his breath as they made their way down the stairs. At least he got to enjoy the view. She was definitely an attractive woman after all, even with her sharp tongue. To be honest that was actually something Harvey had admired about Andie, though he’d never admit to it. She had a way of seeing through his charm and bravado that he’d only ever encountered with Donna and Jessica.

Once they were in the car and on their way Andie pulled out her phone and sent a text to Mike letting him know that she’d been picked up safely and that if he wasn’t home when she got back that she’d text him so he knew she was safe. He may have been pissed off at her but Andie knew that he’d still worry.

Putting the device on vibrate she tucked her phone back into her evening bag and set about pulling on her gloves. She was nervous as she thought about how the night would go playing the part of dutiful girlfriend to someone she’d only just met a few days ago. Suddenly a thought hit her that caused her to nearly curse aloud. She was probably going to have to kiss him.

Harvey must have noticed the look of horror on her face because he looked at her with a frown.

“You okay there Sparky?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Andie muttered, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

“If you say so…” He rolled his eyes and went back to looking out the window.

Harvey just had the same thought, though he wasn’t at all disturbed by it in the least. He was actually kind of looking forward to it, even if he wasn’t all that in to public displays and all that jazz.

All too soon they had reached the gala and had to make their grand entrance. Andie took a deep breath and plastered on as genuine a smile as she could manage as Harvey helped her out of the car and took her arm to lead her inside. Lights flashed around her and she had just started feeling overwhelmed by them when they stepped through the large double doors of the building and were greeted by various people who she wouldn’t remember by the end of the night.

Harvey made fairly polite small talk with each person that stopped to say hello, introducing her to them and gracefully taking the jokes that were made about her having to put up with him, even if he was grumbling about them in his head. Andie, to his surprise, took it all in stride as she laughed and talked with them. He spotted Charlie out of the corner of his eye and excused himself and Andie from their current conversation.

“Get ready kid, you’re about to meet the reason you’re here.” Harvey muttered under his breath, a smile on his face as they walked over.

“Harvey! You made it, and you finally brought your girlfriend along! You’ll have to excuse me sweetie, Harvey hasn’t even told us your name. Likes to play things close to the vest, he does and with a beauty like you I can see why.” Charlie grinned, first shaking hands with Harvey and then Andie.

“Yes, he does like to do that doesn’t he? I’m Andralissa Ross, though everyone calls me Andie. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Harris.” Andie said, giving him a polite smile as they shook hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, and please call me Charlie. Adrianne is flitting around here somewhere but she’ll be so excited to meet you.” Charlie chuckled softly, shaking his head. “She gets bored with me and Harvey always talking business, it’ll be nice for her to have someone to chat with.”

“Oh I’m sure it will. I look forward to meeting her as well.”

“Oh goodness, look at you!” A voice from behind them squealed, causing Andie and Harvey to turn and see a young blonde woman dressed in a lavender ball gown hurrying towards them. “Harvey, you didn’t tell us your girl was so pretty! That dress is absolutely lovely, where did you find it?”

“You must be Adrianne; it’s so good to meet you!” Andie smiled, letting the blonde pull her into a welcoming hug as Harvey watched with amusement. “Thank you so much, it was my mother’s actually.”

“Well it looks fabulous on you.” Adrianne said, turning to give Harvey a brief hug before turning back to Andie. “I’m so sorry; I haven’t even asked your name yet! Where are my manners?”

“Oh not to worry, it happens. Andralissa Ross, but please, call me Andie.”

* * *

 

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of various people coming over to chat with them, and a quick trip to the bar for something to settle Andie’s slightly frazzled nerves. She was charming and polite throughout the evening but it was still very overwhelming. With so many people to meet and having to remember that she and Harvey were ‘dating’, she was getting all kinds of exhausted.

Just when she finally got comfortable with the goings on, the worst possible thing that could ever happen happened.

“Miss Ross, I’m surprised to see you here!”

Oh god. Tanner was here. She was so screwed.

“Mr. Tanner! What a pleasant surprise.” Andie said, turning around with a slightly forced smile on her face.

Harvey was over talking with a few other clients and wasn’t really paying all that much attention to what was going on, so there was no chance of rescue there.

Tanner looked her over with a smile that made her shudder a little as he moved a little closer.

“You look absolutely stunning. Had I known you were going to be here, I would have offered to escort you.” He said, looking down at her.

“I’m afraid my date wouldn’t have appreciated that very much.” Andie said, gesturing over to where Harvey was standing. “He gets a little fussy if his girlfriend goes out with other guys.”

“Girlfriend?” Tanner asked. There was surprise and something else in his voice, something that she couldn’t quite place at the moment. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Well, we’ve been keeping things quiet and I try not to let my personal life get involved with my work. Besides we haven’t been dating all that long.” Andie shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her drink.

“Right…”

Harvey picked that exact moment to look over at them and frowned at how close they were, or rather, how close Tanner was getting as Andie attempted to scoot away. He excused himself and headed over to where they were standing, putting on his best ‘concerned boyfriend’ persona. At least that’s what he hoped he came across as.

“Everything okay over here, babe?” Harvey asked, sliding an arm around Andie’s waist and looking over at Tanner with a charming smile.

“Oh, perfectly fine sweetheart.” Andie replied, looking up at him with a grateful smile. “Harvey, I’d like to introduce you to a coworker of mine, Travis Tanner. Mr. Tanner, this is my boyfriend, Harvey Specter.”

Tanner looked between the two of them with a frown. He wasn’t quite sure he bought the happy couple act. They were a little too stiff around each other for this to be completely legitimate but he couldn’t call them on it in a public setting, just in case he was wrong.

“Charmed I’m sure. I’ll see you at work on Monday, Miss Ross.” Tanner gave her one last look over before walking away.

“Wow, he’s a real piece of work.” Harvey said, shaking his head as he watched Tanner leave.

“You have no idea.” Andie sighed, taking a rather long sip of her drink. She needed it after that. “He’s been trying to get me to go out with him since I started working for Arcadia Enterprises.”

“You work for Arcadia? Doing what?” Harvey looked at her, realizing that he didn’t know all that much about her. That could end up being problematic but they could always work that part out later.

“I’m in the advertising department. I put together the designs and photos for the website and the billboards among other things.” Andie said absently, keeping a close eye on Tanner and what he was doing.

“Huh. Well, he’ll leave you alone soon enough. If he gives you any more trouble just let me know.”

* * *

 

Tanner was fuming. After months of trying to get Andie to fall for him someone else comes along and just sweeps her off her feet. Well, he wasn’t going to stand for that, not for one second. Andie was his and that’s all there was to it.

He pulled out his cellphone and made a call.

“Trevor. Find everything there is to find on a Harvey Specter. I don’t care what it takes.”

“You got it boss.”

* * *

Soon enough the night was coming to an end and Andie was getting pretty sleepy. Sleepy enough that she really didn’t mind having Harvey’s arm around her as they talked with Charlie and Adrianne as they were leaving. The faux couple had managed to avoid having to deal with a public display of affection thus far but they knew that luck would not remain on their side forever.

“You two are so adorable! Please tell me you’re going to be able to make it to the luncheon on Wednesday, Andie?” Adrianne asked, smiling at the pair. “Otherwise I think I might be bored to death listing to the men folk talk.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get away from work just yet, they like to keep me busy, but I’ll do my best.” Andie said, chuckling softly.

Adrianne had come across as a bit shallow and flighty at first but Andie found that she genuinely liked the blonde, she was bright and cheerful but still true to who she was. She felt a bit guilty for lying about her relationship with Harvey but what was done was done and there wasn’t any turning back now. She only hoped that this wouldn’t end badly.

“Well, you two have a good night. We’ll hopefully see you both on Wednesday.” Charlie said, briefly shaking hands with Harvey as Adrianne gave Andie a quick hug.

A little bit later and they were on their way back upstairs to Andie’s apartment and the redhead was feeling a little more awake.

“That went well.” Harvey said, looking over at him with a grin.

“It does seem like it.” Andie said, looking in her evening bag for her keys.

“You need to be there on Wednesday, if only to keep Adrianne distracted. Take the day off work.” Harvey said, pulling out his phone.

“Uh, I can’t do that.” Andie said, looking up at him with a touch of surprise.

“Sure you can, call in sick or something.” Harvey shrugged, looking over at her.

“No. I can’t. See, unlike you I actually have to stick to my hours of operation. If someone found out that I was skipping work to go have lunch with my fake boyfriend and his clients-” Andie started, turning to face him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“No one is going to find out, besides, what’s the worst that could happen?” Harvey asked, rolling his eyes at her.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe losing my job?” Andie huffed, glaring at him.

“So what, you’re smart you can find another one.” Harvey said, not really seeing why this was such a big deal. If she was good enough to get a job with Arcadia she was definitely good enough to get a job somewhere else.

“Unbelievable. I mean, seriously I thought you were an asshole before but now?” Andie stared at him in shock. “I’m not risking my job for you. If I’m free on Wednesday I’ll be there, if not, sorry.”

“Whatever. Maybe I’ll just go on ahead with the lawsuit and then you don’t have to worry about it. Not my problem.”

The smack of her hand meeting his cheek echoed throughout the hallway. He looked down at her in shock and he grabbed her wrist as she made to slap him again.

“How fucking _dare you._ ” Andie spat, her face red from anger as she yanked her wrist out of his grip. “You think that just because you’re some hot shot lawyer that you can get everything you want just by making a threat? Well it’s not going to work with me. You want to go ahead with the lawsuit? Then do it.”

Harvey glared down at her, gritting his teeth. Never had he met a woman that could piss him off as much as she did. A voice in the back of his mind told him that he was walking on thin ice and that he shouldn’t push too much more. He still needed her to pull off this charade and she could very well go to Charlie and tell him everything.

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Andie turned to the door and fished her keys out of her bag and unlocking the door. “I’ll do what I can to go on lunch in time but I’m not making any promises.”

“Fine,” Harvey snapped, brushing past her and stalking down the stairs.

For once Andie was glad that Mike wasn’t home, even though it was late. He wouldn’t see her crying as she leaned against the door to the apartment, wondering what the hell she had done and what she was going to do now.


	3. Memories, Apologies and Lunch dates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own zippo except for Andie and whatever other original characters might show up along the way. All mistakes, errors and discrepancies that you may find belong to me, myself and I because I don't always catch them and I don't always have someone to read through my chapters for me. Feedback is appreciated and greeted with hugs, cookies and lots of love.
> 
> Here we get a little background on Andie, her relationship with her family and how she can creatively tell the truth and still get away with a fake relationship. There's also quite a bit of jumping around. Sorry bout that!

“Donna, stop laughing! It’s not funny goddamn it!” Harvey growled, glaring at his secretary.

“I’m sorry,” Donna cackled. “It’s just sounds like a scene out of a sappy movie! Seriously though, you totally deserved to be slapped for that one.”

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side?” Harvey said indignantly.

“I am on your side,” Donna said, standing up with a grin. “And part of being on your side is letting you know that you’re being an asshole.”

Harvey sighed and ran a hand over his face before scowling at Donna’s retreating form. He hated it when she was right. The redhead paused in the doorway and turned to look at him.

“By the way, Miss Thomas called and said that she was able to get an extra hour off for lunch on Wednesday. I’d suggest taking flowers as an olive branch. Lilies, specifically though from what I understand daisies are acceptable too.”

“How do you even _do_ that?”

 

* * *

 

“Seriously, you’re going to laugh at my complete and utter terror?” Andie groaned, flopping into the chair by her grandmother’s bed.

“Oh it’s not that bad Andie, besides from the sound of things he deserves it.” Edith Ross couldn’t help but chuckle at her granddaughter as she watched her run her hands over her face.

Edith remembered the day James and Nina told her they were adopting the young girl who had been left on the front steps of a New York orphanage. No one knew who her biological parents were and all the four year old had known was her first name. About a month after that decision, Nina had discovered that she was pregnant with Mike.

At first Andie had been worried that her parents wouldn’t want her now that they were having a baby of their own, but after some reassuring that they still wanted to make her a part of their family she settled into the big sister role perfectly. She had taken it upon herself from a very young age to take care of Michael and keep him out of trouble, something she clearly continued to do to this day.

Edith couldn’t help but be proud of the young woman sitting next to her. Even after losing so much she still gave everything she had and then some to the people she loved, though her grandmother worried that she wasn’t taking time to fulfill her own needs and dreams.

Andie had given up a lot to help with Mike when Edith had started to get sick, leaving college with only her associates in graphic design rather than the masters in Fine Arts she had dreamed of. She’d gone right out and gotten a job as a secretary at Arcadia Enterprises until someone had seen the talents she had in putting together eye catching designs. It wasn’t what she wanted to do, by any means, but it was a stable job with a good enough income for her to help take care of her family.

Once Mike was old enough he’d gotten a job as well and had been planning on just working like his sister did, but both Edith and Andie had put their foot down about him going to college so he only worked part time as a bike messenger and then went to school in the evenings. Andie’s voice shook her from her thoughts suddenly.

“Hello, earth to Grammy. You okay? You’re a million miles away.”

Edith smiled and shook her head. “Just thinking, that’s all. So, tell me more about this Harvey Specter. Is he at least cute?”

“Grammy!”

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you have for me Trevor?” Tanner asked, leaning back in his chair.

His errand boy was standing in front of his desk with a file folder that he quickly handed over. Really the only reason Trevor Evans hadn’t been kicked to the curb by now was that he got good results, and quickly. Not only that, but the kid had a past connection to the redheaded spitfire Travis had his eye on. Turns out Trevor had been best buds with Andie’s little brother during high school until he’d gotten busted for smoking weed on school property, the idiot.

“Harvey Reginald Specter, native New Yorker who grew up in the Bronx. Graduated second in his class at Harvard Law, name partner at Pearson Specter. From what I was able to find, the guy likes to think of himself as a mix of James Bond and Bruce Wayne only he’s much more of a dick according to my sources.” Trevor said, putting his hands behind his back.

Trevor didn’t necessarily enjoy working for Tanner but it paid the bills and it kept him and his girlfriend Jenny in a comfortable lifestyle. He really didn’t like the fact that Tanner had set his sights on his former best friend’s older sister. She really didn’t deserve that. Despite what everyone thought, Andie didn’t make Mike cut ties with Trevor. Mike did that one on his own and truth be told, Trevor had understood that. Didn’t mean he liked it, but he understood.

“So what the hell is she doing with him?” Tanner muttered, looking the file over. “I’ll just have to make her see the error of her ways. Thank you Trevor, let me know if you find out anything else.”

“Yes sir, though I’ve got to say, I don’t know if this is a good idea. I mean, she doesn’t seem like she’s going to be easy to convince.” Trevor sighed.

“Oh please. There’s no way in hell she’ll choose him over me once I’m through. I’m charming, suave and I _always_ get what I want.”

 

* * *

 

Harvey sighed as he leaned against the town car, bouquet of lilies in hand. He was waiting for Andie outside her office building so that they could go to the business luncheon together. He was just about to call her to see if she’d remembered when she walked out the double doors. Once again Harvey found himself surprised when he saw her.

She looked perfectly sophisticated and professional; though he had a sneaking suspicion she might have gone the extra mile and made sure she looked more put together for their lunch date. Harvey felt a little pang of guilt for how he’d spoken to her after the gala and he didn’t really like it, but when he was wrong he was wrong and if he wanted this to go smoothly he might actually have to admit it. Ugh.

“Miss Thomas.” He greeted her with a sheepish smile, holding out the flowers to her. “I crossed a line Saturday night and…well I’m sorry.”

Okay, so the look of shock and confusion on Andie’s face was definitely worth the blow to his ego. She stared at him for a moment the tentatively took the flowers. She looked at them, her brow furrowing, before she looked back at him.

“I don’t get it. I slapped you, but you’re giving me flowers and apologizing?” Andie looked at him like he’d grown another head. He was so confusing!

“I deserved it. I assumed too much and I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. Thus, you get flowers and an apology. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth; I don’t do this very often.”

Andie stared at him for a moment longer before shaking her head and giving him a warm smile. “Apology accepted. I’m still sorry for slapping you though, I shouldn’t have lost my temper the way I did.”

“I don’t know it was quite a sight to see.” Harvey grinned at her, opening up the car door so that she could get in.

 

* * *

 

The luncheon was enjoyable on all sides. Adrianne and Andie chatted away about some new magazine article while Harvey and Charlie talked about business. All was going well until Adrianne decided to be a little nostalgic.

“It wasn’t anything I’d ever expected, I mean, blind dates rarely ever turn out well but here we are!” Adrianne smiled at Charlie who put his arm around her. “How did you two meet?”

 _Shit._ Harvey thought, keeping an easy smile on his face as he mimicked Charlie’s action.

They hadn’t hashed that part out yet. However, Andie didn’t miss a beat as she chuckled.

“Would you believe it all started because of a spilled cup of coffee?”

“Oh dear, that sounds like it was a mess.” Adrianne laughed, shaking her head.

Andie smiled and leaned into Harvey a little, just to keep up the careful show of affection they had to put on. “Oh it was a disaster. We were both grumpy as hell and having the worst possible day, but after we snapped at each other for a while he saw an opportunity and he took it. We’ve been together ever since.”

Damn she was good. Harvey was definitely impressed now.

“What can I say, I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to take a beautiful woman like you out for drinks.” Harvey added grinning at Andie as he gently rubbed her arm with his thumb. He resisted the urge to smirk when he felt her shiver a little.

“Of course you weren’t.” Charlie laughed, shaking his head. “Well you have a good catch Harv, though how she puts up with you and those long hours you work I have no idea.”

“I agree. I go crazy when Charlie has to work late. How do you do it?” Adrianne asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“It’s actually not too bad. I knew what I was getting into when we started dating so I guess I’ve just adapted to it.” Andie replied, a soft smile on her face. “As for putting up with him in general, well, I have my ways of handling him.”

“Is that so?” Harvey asked, raising his eyebrows as he looked down at her.

“It’s not like you’re that much of a mystery for me to figure out, darling.” Andie drawled, reaching a hand up to pat his cheek.

Ironically, the same one she’d slapped earlier in the week. Oh and the little smirk on her face as she said it was bordering on adorable. Yeah, he was in trouble.

 

* * *

 

Mike was still fuming a little over Andie essentially being forced to date the man who had been so ready to sue him, but if he was honest, he was angrier with himself than he was with her. Andie was only doing this to protect him and Mike knew it. This was his fault.

He sighed as he locked his bike to the rack and headed in to clock out of work for the day.

Andie was always looking out for him, ever since he could remember. Mike used to think that she was actually a superhero, always there to save the day. He was seventeen when he realized how just hard things had been for her since their parents died. It was late at night and he was actually about to go and sneak out with Trevor when he’d heard the soft sniffling sound coming from Andie’s bedroom.

Mike had crept over to her door, which was open a crack, and saw her sitting on her bed holding the stuffed elephant their parents had given her the day she was adopted. He knew that she was saying something but the only thing he’d been able to make out were the words “trying to take care of Mikey”. He hadn’t seen his sister that upset since they got the news about James and Nina.

He made a decision that night that he was going to try harder to stay out of trouble. They’d been fighting a lot lately, mostly over him going to college and working, and something about that moment made him realize that he was taking her for granted. Not saying that Andie was a saint by any means, she had her own set of flaws, but he knew she was trying so he figured he could too.

Now here they were, in what seemed like yet another mess where he was to blame. Logically he knew that Andie would never blame him, and really it had been an accident, but he felt responsible.

Mike sighed as he clocked out and went back out to his bike, getting ready to ride the mean streets of New York back to the place he called home. He just hoped the reason he called it that wasn’t still flustered and upset. He hated seeing her upset.


	4. Stories, Unwanted but wise advice and Understandings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we see a more laid back side of Andie and Harvey, Louis makes an appearance and gives Harvey something to think about, and Mike finally finds out why his sister is so adamant about him staying in school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy wow it has been a while since I've updated! This chapter is a bit of a short one but I wanted to give you guys something for being so patient! Thank you so much!
> 
> Disclaimer: A per usual I do not own anything but Andie.

A month had come and gone, with various events and double dates to go on. In all honesty it was the longest relationship Andie had ever been in and it wasn’t even a real relationship. She thought that it was rather pathetic. Good thing Harvey didn’t know about that little tidbit. She was sure he’d laugh at her.

They’d managed to avoid most public displays of affection, though they did do the hand holding and arm around the shoulder thing when they needed to. Slowly but surely they were starting to get comfortable with each other and Andie thought that maybe, if this whole thing didn’t blow up in their faces, just maybe they could be friends.

One evening in particular saw them sitting on the couch in Harvey’s office after they’d discussed their game plan for what was going to happen at the next gala that Adrianne was planning, each with a drink in their hand. They were laughing as Andie told Harvey a story about the time Mike played Barber Shop with his sleeping sister’s hair when he was four.

“Oh you should have seen the look on Mom’s face when she saw what he’d done to my hair. Dad couldn’t stop laughing for the life of him, and little Mikey, well he was torn between looking sheepish and proud of himself.” Andie grinned, taking a sip of her drink as Harvey chuckled.

“Man, and here I thought Marcus shaving my eyebrows off was bad.” He laughed, shaking his head as he looked over at her.

Really she was very pretty, not to mention witty and smart too. Why wasn’t she settled down with a husband, three kids and a dog? Why was this amazing woman before him not being spoiled beyond reason? It baffled him to no end and the more he thought about it the more confused he was. Maybe that was just the alcohol talking.

“Is there a reason that you’re staring at me like I’m a Rubik’s cube? What are you trying to figure out over there?” Andie asked, taking a sip of her drink and looking at him with curious amusement.

“Nothing, I just…you confuse me sometimes, that’s all.” Harvey said, shrugging. He was not about to admit what he had been thinking about. Nope, definitely not happening.

“Oh good, that means I’m doing my job.” She chuckled, grinning at him.

It wasn’t too much longer after that that Andie said she had to leave. Big project due at work in the morning, plus she had a few errands to run. So Harvey walked her to the elevators, hand on the small of her back. When they reached the elevator, Andie went up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

“Have a good night Harvey. I’ll see you soon.” She said smiling at him as she stepped inside and the doors closed.

Harvey stared at the doors for a while, a hand on his cheek and a stupid smile on his face.

“So when are you going to let the other shoe fall?” A voice shot out from behind him, causing Harvey to turn with a frown.

“What are you even doing here so late, Louis? Won’t your wife worry?” Harvey shot back, a cool tone to his voice.

“I don’t even know why you think that’s funny since I’m not married.” Louis said, narrowing his eyes. “You shouldn’t toy with the nice ones, Harvey. They don’t deserve that kind of cruelty.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Harvey replied, though he did feel a very unwelcome pang of guilt. He did force Andie’s hand when he came up with this crazy venture so in a way, though he loathed admitting it, Louis was right. He was toying with her.

“You know damn good and well what I’m talking about.” Louis said quietly. “She obviously likes you, yet you’re playing one of your typical games and you’ll let a good thing pass you by. The worst part about it is you probably won’t even notice when it does.”

“Last I checked, I didn’t ask you for dating advice. I didn’t ask you for any kinds of advice at all, come to think of it so why don’t you just mind your own business and stay the hell out of mine.”

There was that annoying pang again. Harvey started to think maybe he should get that looked at. Surely it wasn’t normal, especially not for him. Harvey Specter did not do guilt.

“Whatever, Harvey, just remember that I tried to warn you when she slips away from you.”

And with that Louis turned on his heel and headed back toward his office, leaving Harvey alone with some rather unpleasant thoughts.

 

* * *

 

Andie was still smiling when she walked through her apartment door, setting her purse on the side table and toeing off her shoes. Mike was sitting on the couch reading and didn’t look up when he heard the door open.

“You have fun on your little date?” He asked, turning a page. If anyone else had heard him they’d have said his tone was normal, but Andie could hear the subtle bite in his nonchalance.

“That depends; did you have fun with that stick up your ass?” Andie replied with a cheery tone to her voice as she hung her jacket up in the coat closet.

Mike glared at her before going back to his book. “I don’t know why you agreed to this. We could have managed just fine without you having to play escort for some douche in a suit.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, we’re barely making it by where we’re at without adding potential legal fees onto our already meager budget.” Andie scoffed, rolling her eyes. So it was this conversation again.

“Well if you would just let me work full time and help out instead of making me go to school then maybe that wouldn’t be a problem!” Mike snapped, slamming his book down on the coffee table.

“Mike we’ve talked about this. You’ve always wanted to be a lawyer and the only way that’s going to happen is if you finish school. I can manage fine with my job, I have for years. Once you’ve graduated then you can do whatever the hell you want.”

“I want to help! Why are you so dead set against letting me?!”

“I don’t want you to end up in a dead end job, wasting your talents and never getting anywhere in your life, that’s why! It’s bad enough that I’m stuck on that road; you don’t need to be either. You have a chance and a choice that I never did, Mike. Don’t throw it away!” Andie stared hard at her brother, hoping that this time her words would get through his thick skull.

Mike looked at her with wide eyes, not having expected that kind of outburst from his sister. Never once in all these years had she ever complained, ever made any indication that leaving school had upset her in any way. Apparently she felt more strongly about it than he had thought.

“Now, I had my reasons for making the decisions I made and I don’t regret leaving for those reasons. It was more than just my responsibility, I needed to take care of my family and make sure that they were alright.” Andie explained. “That doesn’t mean I don’t think about what my life could have been had I not left school. We’d probably be in better shape, but there’s no guarantee that we’d all still be together. I needed you both in my life and that’s the main reason I left.”

Mike dropped onto the couch, his sister’s words sinking in at he listened to her. He’d never even thought about how coming home had effected Andie and now he could feel guilt, for being so selfish and only thinking about how unfair she was being to him, creeping up on him.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” He said softly.

Andie sighed and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to.”

“Well, I’m glad I know now. I’m sorry I’ve been so stubborn about school. I just wanted to help so badly, I never stopped to think about the reasons why you wanted me to keep going.” Mike rested his head on hers and wrapped his arm around her.

“Yeah well, you’re a Ross and we’re all known for being stubborn.” Andie chuckled, closing her eyes.

“That we are; big sister. That we are.”


End file.
